KEEP STUDENTS OFF DRUGS WITH MORE THAN PLATITUDES

School Programs Need Careful Scrutiny, Parental Role

When it comes to keeping kids off drugs, the platitudes are easy. Parents
and educators, who know more about what they want to achieve than the best
way to achieve it, can be lulled into a false - and expensive - sense of
security by those with a product to sell.

A study published by an education journal called Health Education Research,
found that many schools nationwide use "heavily marketed curricula that
have not been evaluated, have been evaluated inadequately or have been
shown to be ineffective in reducing substance abuse."

Three of the most popular - DARE, Here's Looking at You 2000 and McGruff's
Drug Prevention and Child Protection - are on the list of programs
researchers say don't deliver as expected.

It's not the first time DARE has been criticized. Some Arizona districts
have replaced it with less expensive programs. The national director of
DARE says researchers looked at old curriculum and that DARE is conducting
its own study.

Nevertheless, the recent study found that even the best programs don't
always do the job. That's because districts don't adequately train teachers
and may not use all the materials.

This is not an argument against school-based prevention programs.

It's a warning to demand evidence of effectiveness before investing money -
and the future of a classroom full of students - in a drug prevention program.

That caution needs to be exercised by districts and parents.

Especially parents.

They are - as the platitude goes - the ultimate anti-drug. The most
effective drug-abuse prevention message any child hears will be delivered
at home. But school-based programs are valuable to reinforce that message,
build peer pressure against drug use and to reach children whose parents
are not smart enough or sober enough to provide an anti-drug message.

That's why, as active, caring parents, you have to take an active role in
determining the value of the programs being offered at schools. It's your
children and your tax money. You ought to make sure you're getting more out
of it than a bumper sticker.

This new research points up the importance of choosing proven programs and
giving teachers the training and materials to do the job.

Otherwise, money may not be the worst thing wasted.

For another perspective on drug abuse, turn to Kathleen Parker's column on
the Opinions page.